You know you have a strong brand when your product can be rendered as a delicious chocolate treat. Are you listening Harley-Davidson? Or, better yet, John Deere? Okay, I think I'm just hungry. Purchase your Swiss Chocolate Knife here.
Via Crib Candy.
So the other night I went looking for a bottle of wine to go along with a spicy Indian dinner. I headed over to the Riesling area and found a bottle of wine speaking directly to my needs. Firehose. I loved the simple design and unique name. Being a sucker for such things, I took a bottle home. And, I must say, it did the job admirably.
This is what happens when two imaginative illustrators open up their own bakery and candy shop. Great packaging. Whimsical marzipan characters. A careful attention to every branding detail. Yeah, this is pretty tasty stuff. If you're in the Antwerp area, get a sneak peek of the whole experience at the Lucy penthouse on March 6.
Via Adhunt.
I absolutely love the branding of this ultra-premium juice from Singapore.
Wild Bunch & Co features an eclectic epicurean selection of organic juice—and is aimed at upscale bars, restaurants, spas, and offices. You could also get it delivered to your door (if you live in Singapore, that is). The stunning bottles, combined with a classically understated graphic design, is a packaging tour de force. Look how the natural colors of the various juices jump out at you and pull you in. And you just have to love names such as Iron Maiden (carrots, parsley, spinach), Savage Cabbage (cabbage, celery, fennel), and Easy Peazy (carrots, peas, parsnips). Great branding work from Seed in the UK.
Via Springwise.
El Paso, Texas is about to embark on a bold new branding initiative. According to City Manager Joyce Wilson in an El Paso Times article,
"the campaign is the result of market research that found people in
several cities had little or no familiarity with this community, or a
not-so-positive perception of the community."
My guess is that's true.
Wilson then goes on to say "If you don't define who you are, someone else will."
That's true, too. That's branding in a nutshell.
So after $285,000 for research and development, the city has chosen a campaign theme of...wait for it...wait for it...
"El Paso, Texas—You Have No Idea."
Wow.
I would assume a city wouldn't spend more than a quarter of a million
dollars to insult its own citizens, so I have no choice but assume they
are insulting the rest of the world. We are all uninformed and should
be ashamed of our lack of El Paso knowledge.
Good lord. How in the world does this theme define who or what El Paso is? It doesn't even move one inch in that direction.
Even if the rest of the campaign proceeds to tell me all the wonderful things about El Paso (I do like Old El Paso products), this branding effort is mind boggling.
Research should be the springboard used for creative leaps. In this
case, no leap was made. It's a classic case of letting research play
the role of creative director.
I absolutely knew Katie Couric would fail as anchor of CBS Evening News. Not because she is a woman. Not because she is incompetent. But because of two brands.
Here's what I mean.
Couric was (is?) an extremely popular television superstar. She was
beloved by millions of viewers as co-host of the popular Today show. Ratings for NBC were great with her in front of the camera.
The Katie Couric brand is well-known to anyone who even casually
watched her show. Perky. Smiley. Energetic. Funny. Likable. And yes,
while she could get serious now and again for the occasional interview,
the Katie Couric brand was really about bubbly effervescence. She was
the likable neighbor next door. She excelled at the morning show format
in a way few others have or perhaps will.
But the the CBS evening news is not a morning show.
Like the Katie Couric brand, the CBS News brand is equally well-known
to anyone who has watched television. This is a proud, hard-core
broadcast news network. Despite some well-publicized hits at the end of
Dan Rather's reign, CBS has always been a true bastion of solid reporting and professional journalism.
But Katie Couric is not a journalist.
Quite simply, Katie Couric fans have no interest in seeing a serious
and stiff Katie Couric every night. And CBS News fans want to see a
crusty old journalist reading the news, not a celebrity.
Predictably, ratings for CBS Evening News with Katie Couric have been below awful.
Stretching and evolving a brand is one thing. Assuming anyone will care
or follow along is entirely another. Step out of your brand at your own
risk.
CBS executives should have know better.
As reported in today's New York Times, Uncle Ben has been promoted. No longer just a servant/butler with creepy racist overtones, Ben is now chairman of the board with creepy racist overtones. In this new campaign by TBWA/Chiat/Day, Ben shares his nuggets of wisdom (the stereotypical role of old black folks, after all). In the ad here, Ben tells us that perfection cannot be attained, but that's no reason to stop trying. The ad copy next to the box goes on to explain that Uncle Ben's rice is indeed perfect, which tells me Ben's platitudes must get a lot of eye rolls around the old boardroom table. If this ad had been created in 1955, perhaps it would have been revolutionary. In this day and age, are we supposed to be impressed that a black man is chairman of his own company? Are we to believe that a successful businessman would have "From the Desk of Uncle Ben" printed on his personal journal? Ben seems to be an aloof figurehead working for The Man, just like he was in the 1940s. Instead of pumping more life into this racially charged icon, why not dump it altogether? The Uncle Ben's brand is surely strong enough to survive a rebranding without the logo. Then, perhaps, they could focus on the benefits of the rice and why I should buy it. If you ask me, this campaign is a mess. As always, though, I'd be interested to know what you think.
Here's a wine that strips away all pretense (as well as typically vital information such as grape varietal and vintage year). Wine That Loves is a new brand from the Amazing Food Wine Co. of New York. The idea is simple. Help consumers pair the right wine with the right meal. Love the packaging, which was developed by New York's Lippincott Mercer. No doubt, wine aficionados will be appalled. For them, the complexity of selecting and enjoying wine is a big part of the appeal. For the rest of us, this brand certainly makes wine less intimidating. But it also signals to the world (okay, the two other shoppers in the aisle) that we're ignorant about wine. It might be true, but it's hard to admit. Right now, my local cashier probably assumes I know my wine. I would hate to disillusion him. What about you? Would you try it? Why or why not?
Via Brandweek and Springwise.
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